gpl/y C VO1ftWLVD1 - NATURAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT ETHODOLOGIES FOR THE PROPOSED HIGH-LEVEL WASTE REPOSITORY AT YUCCA OUNTAIN, YE COUNTY, NEVADA by Russell G. Raney Economic Models and Cost Analyses by Nicholas Wetzel U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of ines Western Field Operations Center Spokane, WA Prepared for the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Under Interagency Agreement NRC-02-84-004 NRC FIN D1018 WrnF8E *08o- r1-C,,'v'ESELISDQ11, 1 MLOO03 51NO-b - ABSTRACT Resource assessment of proposed high-level waste (LW) repository sites and adjacent areas is mandated by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFIR) art 60. The intent of this document is threefold. First, it provides information to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on accepted methods of resource assessment applicable to the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada HLW repository site, so DOE can demonstrate, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), compliance with regulations governing resource identification and evaluation. Secondly, it provides information that NRC can use in making a finding of DOE's compliance with the -requirements of 10 CFR Part 60. And lastly, it will provide input to the NRC's technical position and review guide. lethods of resource assessment, including but not limited to, geologic mapping and sampling, geochemical surveys, geophysical surveys, deposit modeling, and geomathematical studies, along with the advantages, disadvantages, and uncertainties associated with the use of the various methods, are discussed. Resource quantification, qualification, and evaluation methods and techniques are presented, as well as data sources for estimating capital and operating costs on the development and ey' ction of potential resources. Extraction/economic models for 5 s~ ,ted deposit types are also presented. CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT . INTRODUCTION . 1. REGULATORY BASIS FOR ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. 1.1 Definitions . 1.2 Regulations Mandating Resource Assessment. 1.3 Regulatory Compliance. 1.4 Methods of Resource Assessment Available for Use as Part of Site Characterization . 1.5 References . 2. RESOURCE ASSESSMENT METHODS . 2.1 Resource Identification. 2.1.1 Background Data Collection . 2.1.1.1 Literature and Database Research . 2.1.1.2 Personal Contacts . 2.1.2 Identification of Natural Resources of the Geologic Setting . 2.1.2.1 Application of Background Data . 2.1.2.2 Identification of Potential Resources within the Controlled Area 2.1.3 Field Data Collection, Compilation, and Interpretation . 2.1.4 Deposit Modeling and Deposit Models. 2.1.4.1 Model Selection Rationale . 2.1.4.2 Descriptive Models 2.1.5 Exploration Methods 2. 1.5. 1 Geological Mapping 2.1.5.2 Sampling Methods 2.1.5.3 Geochemical Exploration Methods 2.1.5.4 Geophysical Exploration Methods. 2.1.5.5 Exploration Drilling Methods . 2.1.5.6 Borehole Geophysical Methods 2.1.5.7 Geomathematical Methods 2.1.5.8 Map Data Compilation and Correlation of Sample Data . 2.1.5.9 Data Analysis and Model Refinement . 2.2 Resource Estimation . 2.2.1 Discovered Resources. 2.2.1.1. Mineral Resources . .. 2.2.2 Undiscovered Resources . 2.3 Resource Evaluation . 2.3.1 Capital and Operating Costs . 2.3.2 Cost Components . 2.3.3 Systems for Cost Estimating and Cost Data Sources 2.3.4 Economic Analysis . 2.4 Economic Models . 2.5 References SUMMARY ........................... .'-CRONYMS and INITIALISMS . GLOSSARY . I-I 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY . 6. 1 Information Sources . 6.2 Deposit Modeling and Deposit Models . 6.3 Mapping, Sampling, Surveying, and Drilling .. 6. 4 Geochemistry and Geophysics . 6.5 Exploration and Economic Geology . 6.6 Sample Analysis . 6. 7 Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing . 6.8 Geomathematics . 6.9 Extraction, Processing, and Economics . 6.10 Geotechnics . 6.11 General........... Appendix A. Annotated Bibliography--Case Histories and Papers Pertaining to Resource Discoveries in which Geochemical and/or Geophysical Exploration Methods Played a Major Role . Appendix B. Location abbreviations of deposits referenced in Section 2.1.4.2 . Appendix C. Costing backup data -_tt/ /vAfnN/ ^lc- as , Ad £4R deve/7me.4 -~~~~~~~~~~ ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 1. Resource Assessment Procedures 2. Generalized Stratigraphic Column, Yucca Mountain Area 3. Location of Yucca Mountain in Relation to Calderas and Caldera Complexes in the Southwestern Nevada Volcanic Field 4. Schematic Cross-Section of Yucca Mountain, Crater Flat, and Bare Mountain Shoving Known and Postulated Subterranean Features 5. Schematic Cross-Section of Hot-Spring Au-Ag Deposit 6. Schematic Cross-Section of Typical Creede-Type Epithermal Vein Deposit 7. Generalized Map, Metal and Mineral Zoning in Polymetallic Replacement Deposits in the Main Tintic District, Utah 8. Schematic Cross-Section of Cu Skarn Deposit 9. Major Elements of Mineral-Resource Classification Excluding Reserve Base and Inferred Reserve Base 10. Reserve Base and Inferred Reserve Base Classification Categories 11. ROCKVAL Approach to Mineral Resource Assessment TABLES TABLE 1. Sampling Methods 2. Comparison of Commonly-Used Analytical Methods 3. Changes in Plants due to Increased Concentrations of Some Trace Elements 4. Vapor Indicators of Mineralized Zones 5. Mean Values for Some Important Elements in Major Igneous and Sedimentary Rock Types 6. Summary of the Dispersion of Various Elements in the Secondary Environment and Applications in Geochemical Exploration 7. Commonly-Used Pathfinder Elements 8. Comparison of Major Geochemical Exploration Methods 9. Geochemical Exploration Methods Applied to Selected Deposit Models 10. Comparison of Major Geophysical Exploration Methods J11. Geophysical Exploration Methods Applied to Selected Deposit Models 12. Exploration Drilling Methods and Normal Characteristics 13. General Applications, Advantages, and Disadvantages of Standard Mineral Resource Estimation Methods 14. ROCKVAL - Geologic Parameter Definitions It Mld- /o6/dtW/fe 65 / /5 re tf FIGURE 1. - Resource assessment process INTRO DUCTION 1. REGULATORY BASIS FOR ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 1.1 Def initions For purposes of clarity and brevity, it is necessary to define several frequently used terms. The following definitions are, for the most part, taken from NRC and Bureau of Mines (BOM) references "Resources" as used here is a collective term for all metallic and nonmetallic minerals and ores; fuels, including peat, lignite, and coal; or "dry heat." Ground or surface water in the usual sense (i.e., potable, agricultural, or industrial water at ambient temperature at relatively shallow depths), hydrocarbons (oil, gas, tar sands, asphalt, etc.), and geothermal occurrences are addressed in a separate report by the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory nalyses (CNWRA). However, ground water in the form of mineral brines (other than sodium chloride brines), or even waters of relatively low salinity, a-re included as resources if at depths generally below those at which potable ground water is extracted, and if ti are potentially valuable for their dissolved mineral content (1) 1/. TV erm "natural resources" is used in the context of 10 CFR Part 60 (2) an is synonymous with "resources." "Resource exploration or exploitation activities" as used here eans o . any action, such as borehole drilling or sinking of shafts, in the search for mineral commodities (." The term "mineral commodities" is synonymous with "resources". The term "deposit" is used in reference to the physical occurrence of a resource. "Site characterization" as defined by 10 CFR Section 60.2 (2) is "The program of exploration and research, both in the laboratory and in the field, undertaken to establish the geologic conditions and the ranges of those parameters of a particular site relevant to the procedures in 1 CFR Part 6. Site characterization includes borings, surface excavations, excavation of exploratory shafts, limited lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing at depth needed to determine the suitability of the site for a geologic repository, but does not include preliminary borings and geophysical testing needed to decide whether site characterization should be undertaken" Resource assessment is not a primary goal of site characterization, and any geological, geochemical, geophysical, or engineering data acquired for Dt purposes, when applied to -resource assessment, may be incomplete or rc in ignificant uncertainty. This notwithstanding, integration of such a n the resource assessment progran may prove to be of value in ass(ssi n the site's resource potential and, of greater importance, the potential for post-closure human interference 1/ NuNmbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references following each section. 6 1.2 EffLulations Maniating Resource Assessment DOE is required by 10 CFR Part 60, Subpart (2), to apply to NRC for a license to receive and possess source, special nuclear, and byproduct material at a geologic repository operations area (GROA). License applications shall consist of general information and a Safety Analysis Report that includes provisions set forth in 10 C Section 60.21(c) (1-15) (2). Resource assessment requirements as specified in 10 CFR Section 60.21(c)(13), (2) state that the Safety Analysis Report shall include: An identification and evaluation of the natural resources of the geological setting, including estimates as to undiscovered deposits, the exploitation of which could affect the ability of the geologic repository to isolate nuclear wastes. Undiscovered deposits of resources characteristic of the area shall be estimated